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SureBeam Corporation— innovator of the electron beam technology that safely removes dangerous bacteria from food —announced today that American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ) is expanding the use of SureBeam irradiated ground beef to 30 Twin Cities metro-area Dairy Queen locations. With a total of 43 restaurants in Minnesota offering customers irradiated hamburgers by July 17th, Dairy Queen is the first national quick-service restaurant chain to publicly serve SureBeam irradiated beef.

"Food safety and food quality have always been top priorities in the Dairy Queen system," says Glenn Lindsey, ADQ vice president of Research and Development. "In addition to providing consumers peace of mind about the safety of their hamburgers, electronic irradiation does not compromise the taste and eating quality of our products."

Jan Malcolm, Minnesota Health Commissioner, applauded Dairy Queen for being the first national quick-service restaurant chain to offer SureBeam processed beef. "We're very pleased to see that the food industry is taking another step forward in introducing irradiated products to the public," said Malcolm. "By introducing irradiated products—and taking steps to actively promote it—Dairy Queen is setting an example that we hope the rest of the industry will quickly emulate."

Similar to a microwave oven, SureBeam technology uses ordinary electricity as its energy source to irradiate and help eliminate with ionizing energy harmful bacteria—such as e. coli, listeria, and salmonella—enhancing a food's quality without compromising its taste, texture, or nutritional value. Friendly to the environment, the technology also provides a post-harvest treatment that effectively rids fresh fruit and vegetables of harmful environmental pests, eliminating the need for toxic chemical fumigants.